New cocoa reforms will protect farms and improve sector – COCOBOD CEO

Dr Randy Abbey, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), has dismissed allegations that the Cocoa Board Bill 2026 will obstruct cocoa farmers from intercropping. He dismissed these claims as deliberate misinformation about the proposed legislation. The bill was crafted to address ongoing issues within the cocoa sector, such as farm destruction, funding shortages, weak financial controls, limited domestic processing and lackluster returns for farmers.

Dr Abbey stated that the legislation aims to enhance cocoa farm protection by necessitating authorization before cocoa trees are destroyed, uprooted, damaged or felled, with exceptions for approved rehabilitation programs. This move is necessary due to the escalating loss of cocoa farms to activities like illegal mining, logging, and real estate development.

Every week, Dr Abbey receives complaints from farmers regarding the destruction of their farms for various reasons. If it's not mining, it's lumbering. If it's not lumbering, it's real estate development. This industry has been the backbone of this economy from the Gold Coast to Ghana for over a century, and reforms are necessary.

Dr Abbey clarified that the proposed restrictions do not imply a ban on farmers growing food crops alongside cocoa. Instead, the provisions are meant to safeguard cocoa trees and farms from destruction, not to impede farmers from adopting approved farming practices. He also accused certain individuals and groups of intentionally twisting the bill's content, arguing that these claims could undermine the reforms meant to bolster the industry.

Dr Abbey emphasized that the bill would impose stricter financial controls at COCOBOD, including stricter adherence to the Public Financial Management Act, to avert actions that could endanger the cocoa sector with substantial financial risks. The bill also introduces a new cocoa pricing framework under which farmers would receive 70% of the gross free-on-board value of cocoa, while producer prices could be adjusted based on international market indicators.

Dr Abbey stated that this arrangement aims to ensure farmers profit when global cocoa prices rise while minimizing the risk of financial losses when prices decline. He called the proposed legislation the most substantial overhaul of Ghana's cocoa industry since the 1984 law, asserting that the reforms are intended to improve the sector's financial stability, enhance farmer welfare, promote local processing, and foster the industrialization of the cocoa value chain.